How Does the Quality of Housing Affect Health and Family Adjustment?

March, 1954, was the effective starting date of a five-year study on some of the effects of housing quality on health and family life. The actual collection of data began April, 1955, but because of the long-range nature of the study findings that are relevant to the hypotheses will not be available for a number of months. This paper is concerned with the background of the project and with a description of the study methods being employed. As we discuss its different phases, we will have occasion to mention problems incurred in carrying out a controlled study design in which the independent variable is an aspect of the human social environment. These problems rarely get a public airing at a time when they are uppermost in the minds of investigators. When final reports are written early difficulties usually have receded, or are over